by A. S. Oren
Spearwood Academy
Volume Three:
Episodes 11-15
By
A.S. Oren
Copyright © 2014 A.S. Oren
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.
Fanworks are okay. Just make sure to link me, I would love to see them, and have a disclaimer.
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Cover designed by: A.S. Oren
Table of Contents
Previously on Spearwood Academy
New York, New York
Underground
No Escape
The Outcasts of New York
Dream
Questioning Everything
The Witch’s Helper
Payment
Anchors
Sewn Together Fragments
She’s Alive
Dinner
The Next Plan
The Aqua Basement
Awkward
Goodbyes
Parents
Temporary
Mole
Previously on Spearwood Academy
New York, New York
Bullock reaches back for a hand. Dante takes his and then reaches back for someone, they continue this until they reach Amr and he places his hand on my leg. They begin to walk into the darkness, I follow. My heart pounds in my chest. I can’t help but remember Triton’s warning of how people have become lost in voids. I close my eyes as I enter the dense black. A rush of musky air forces me to open my eyes. We are no longer outside. With my night vision, I can see that we are in a crumbling, unused, underground subway.
My dragon form has to duck in order to not hit the ceiling. “We made it,” says Bullock, with a sigh.
“That was easy,” says Mirren.
“Too easy,” says Dante, with a groan. I look to him as he falls over.
The others rush to him, he holds his side. Dark blood pours from a deep gash, a piece of thick metal sticks out from it.
“Shit!” says Horace,
My control lessens with every second he gets weaker. Something inside me, tells me that I can help him before she takes over again. ‘Take one of my scales and put it over his wound.’ I don’t even know why I have said that.
“What?” asks Amr.
‘Hurry, it will heal him. I’m slipping with him, you need to do it before the scales change color.’
Amr feels for one of my larger scales in the dark and grips on. He pulls with all his might. Ripping it from my flesh. I let out a roar, the pain from losing it too great. My last hold on my mind gives way and I fall to the side, as my body turns back to human. I hope they will be able to bring me back again, I don’t want to live in her mind.
Underground
My entire body aches, like I jumped off a cliff but didn’t die. The odor of stale waste and air wafts into my nose. “Man, are you okay?” Horace asks. I force my eyes open. Where the hell am I? Why am I so cold? I look down, only to see I’m as naked as the day I was born. My arms come up to cover my chest. I turn my head to the others who are gathered around Dante. He sits with his back pressed against an old concrete wall, which could crumble at any moment. Behind me lays an old subway track, but it leads to a dead end.
“Why am I naked?” I swallow hard as they turn to look at me. Blurry images of fighting giant creatures and of Dante taking me over with the use of the Voice flash in my mind, like I’m watching a movie through another person’s eyes.
“Great, the other version is back,” Lusk says.
I frown. Other version? Hot tears prick the corner of my eyes. Naked, in a place only the Sun god knows where, and he chooses now to pick on me? I turn my body away from them and sob.
Dante takes in a sharp breath and swallows hard. “I’m fine. It will just take a minute for this scale to take full effect. Someone give her their blazer.”
With a heavy sigh, Maverick stands and walks over to me. He drapes his green Spearwood blazer over my bare shoulders. I slip my arms into the long sleeves. Now covered, I stand up to face the guys. The hem of the blazer falls right above my knees. The guys are still around Dante. Pale does not look good on him; I don’t think I have ever seen him look this bad. What happened? I don’t remember anything happening that would have gotten me from the cabin place to here. I move closer to them. Dante’s shirt is missing. A large golden scale lays against his side. Gold? None of the guys have golden scales. Off to the side of the group, a jagged piece of metal lays, covered in dark red blood.
I take a few steps away from them. Are they still crazy, like before? “What happened?”
Horace stands. “You honestly do not remember anything at all?” Behind his thin glasses, his green eyes narrow.
“Not really. I think we may have fought something.” I shake my head as more images flash in front of my mind’s eye. These flashes can’t be right. If they are, I was in a full dragon form at some point. “That can’t be right. I don’t even know how to shift my wings yet, let alone my whole body.”
Dante sighs and readjusts himself, pushing his body against the wall to sit up straighter. His amber eyes appear dull compared to the vibrancy they normally hold. “Bullock, how are we going to get to the Sea Witch? We can’t move through the city unnoticed. Not with me like this and her being half clothed.” He gestures to me. I pull the blazer tighter around myself. I just want to go back to Spearwood and see Dad. How did we get here? None of them should know how to perform the magic necessary to move us somewhere else.
“We won’t need to walk the actual streets. New York has hundreds of abandoned underground tunnels, some of which the historians don’t even know about. A lot of them are used for the Outcasts who wish to stay out of the eyes of Spearwood. She’s located in Chinatown near the border of the Lower East side. I’d say it’s about a day’s walk from here, unless we can find someone who smuggled a golf cart down here and has it still working.”
Dante nods. With a grunt, he uses the wall to stand up. He sways on his feet. Amr and Horace come to his sides, and he uses their bodies for support. One of Amr’s hands holds the golden scale into place. Where did that thing come from anyway?
“Are you sure you can do this? One of us can stay behind with you,” says Amr.
Dante shakes his head. “No, that’s not going to happen.”
Bullock stands and walks a few feet in front of us. “Well, for now, we just need to move forward. We won’t have any forks for a while.”
I move over to Paden and take his hand. I don’t like what’s happening, but I know he will never let anything bad happen to me. I’m safe with him.
No Escape
The walls leak a wet substance, and old cable lines hang from them. I hold onto Paden's hand; he can see in the dark better than I can. I don't know how I am making anything out as it is; I'm usually as blind as a bat when it comes to seeing in the dark. I move my hand from his and wrap it around his arm, pressing myself against him. Was that a rat? "I want to go back to Spearwood," I beg.
Dante takes more of his weight off Horace and Amr's shoulders; he must be gaining some of his strength back. His amber eyes glow in the dark. "I'm sorry, Avalon, but this is just how it’s going to be. We need to get you better and out of the clutches of Roseman."
I jut out my lip. "My dad does not have me in his clutches
!" I snap.
"That's just the thing. He's not your father, not even close. We've told you this, back in the cabin," says Amr.
I shake my head. "Yeah and you also told me I was your twin. Like that would ever be true. We aren't anything alike."
"Perhaps, the current you doesn't act like him, but the original Avalon does. She shares the same tastes and hobbies," continues Paden. I stare at his face, barely able to make out the details of his profile in the dark. He stands a good head taller than me.
"What are you talking about, love? I'm nothing like him."
He tenses in my grasp, but continues to walk.
"How do you know the original Avalon and I are similar?” Amr asks.
I had surveillance done on all of you, when I heard Perlow would be placing her into your group. I had heard of Mathis through the Vox vine, so I didn’t need to look him up. The rest of you, I did. Amr, you share the same taste in fandoms and food. You both have an almost unreal love for anything dark chocolate. I find this fascinating, because you two did not grow up together. I guess some things truly do stem from nature and not nurture."
'Wow, he really did dig deep with his obsession of me,' my own voice says in the back of my head. I shake it. It's not really there.
I frown. "I hate dark chocolate; it's too bitter."
Paden looks to me. "The current you hates dark chocolate."
I pull away from him. He can't be the Paden I know and love. He wouldn't turn on me like this. I can't believe I'm following them around like an idiot, when I know they have all gone off the deep end. "Stop saying that. I'm not another person!" I stomp my foot and stand my ground.
The others stop. Lusk sighs as he moves to lean against the wall. He looks to Paden. "Can't you do something to control her? She’s your 'fiancée', after all."
"I have a feeling she isn't going to listen to me; unlike Mathis, I don't have the Voice fully mastered yet. I can control her for a few minutes at a time, but not for hours."
The hot tears fall down my cheeks. My childhood friends have turned into the enemy in a matter of minutes.
"I can bring out the original Avalon again," Dante says . His hand presses against the golden scale on his side.
"No, Dante, you can't. You don't have enough strength to keep her out. And though she could try to help and suppress this version, she isn’t strong enough to prolong it for the hours we would need in order to get to the Sea Witch,”Horace says .
It’s like I’m not even here anymore. Hello, I’m standing right here. I sigh and walk away from them. If they won’t take me back to Spearwood, I will find some other way to get there. I’m sure Dad will come looking for me soon, if he’s not already. I’m almost certain I a saw a ladder a while back.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Triton asks .
Ire runs up my spine at the sound of his voice. I almost forgot that he was with us. “Back to Spearwood and away from you crazy people.” I don’t even glance back as I move on toward the alcove I saw the ladder in.
Cool, stale air rushes around me, and my folded arms press even harder into my chest. I can’t move my upper body. An unseen force pulls me back toward the guys, and I land against someone’s chest. Their arms go around my waist and manipulate my body to turn around and face them. Bullock stands in front of me. Even in the dark, the smirk is evident on his face. “You aren’t going anywhere, Miss Clementine.” He drags out the ‘Clementine’ just to piss me off.
“My name is Avalon Roseman,” I growl.
‘No, your name is Avalon Clementine!’ my voice yells in my head.
“I’m not named after some dumb fruit!” I mumble.
‘Avalon, you moron, means Island of Apples. It is also a derivative of the Welsh word Afal, which means apple. Obviously you’ve never cared to know what your name means. You’re named after two dumb fruits. Congratulations!’ counters my voice.
‘This can’t be happening. I’m not having a conversation with a voice inside my head.’
‘Yes you are. Dante helped me get some of my traction back. I may not be able to control my own body anymore, but I can annoy the shit out of the thing that is.’
“What’s wrong with her? She looks constipated,” Lusk says .
My head snaps in his direction, and I send him a glare. I fight against the invisible binds, but nothing loosens. “What did you do to me?”
“I worked the air to bind you like a lasso. Lucky for me, you don’t know how to undo it.”
“I knew you were gifted with air magic, but you never did anything like this.”
“We don’t know each other, so don’t assume you know me at all. The Ancients cast a spell over me to lock my powers. I could only use them to a degree. Here, in the tunnels, their magic can’t reach me. I’m more powerful than you think.”
‘Wow, I had no idea. Glad I’m around to hear this.’
‘I did not hear that. I’m not crazy.’
‘You may not be crazy, but I’m still here.’
“We should get moving again. We still have several miles to go before we can rest for the day, and we still haven’t entered the territory of the outcasts who live down here. Are you good to move again, now that I have her under control?” Bullock Dante asks.
I struggle with the binds again, but nothing sets me free. “I will not forgive you for this, Bullock!”
‘I will. At least someone has got your whiney ego under control.’
“Shut up!” I snap. I so did not mean to say that aloud. My cheeks heat up. I can tell that their heads are turned in my direction.
“Who are you talking to?” Amr asks.
I keep my mouth shut. ‘I’m not going to dignify them with a response. I’ll ignore all of them. The voice in my head included.’
‘Ha! I’m going to drive you mad. Perhaps I can cure myself without the help of this Sea Witch? I hope I don’t have to trade my soul in exchange for her help.’
We walk again. Bullock pulls me behind him like a slave through the desert.
‘It’s nowhere near that bad, Drama queen. I hope you like ride along music! 999 bottles of beer on the wall—’
The Outcasts of New York
‘500 bottles of beer on the wall! 500 bottles of beer! I can’t believe I’ve gotten this far down. I usually give up after the first 900. Take one down and pass it around.’
‘Please shut up.’
‘Not a chance. It’s weird, being in this state; gives me an abundance of energy.’
“We’re coming up on the Outcast territory. Let me do all the talking.”
None of the guys object to Bullock taking the lead, but I can’t help but wonder who died and made him leader.
‘Well, if you want to get technical, I did, sort of. I’m not dead, just suppressed. Roseman didn’t do a very thorough job. He created you, yes, but he left all these loose ends floating around, and he didn’t destroy me, so why did he get into my head in the first place? What was his motive? I don’t think it was to make me his puppet. He also let us get away from the school. All of it was too easy. That, or their defense system needs a new age upgrade.’
‘What loose ends?’
‘What’s your mother’s name? Where were you born?’
‘Come to think of it, I don’t know.’
‘Exactly.’
‘Do you know?’
‘Nope. Never met my mother, though I do know she’s also Amr’s mother. So, I suppose I will meet her one day. Have no idea where I was born.’
‘So he’s telling the truth?’ I shake my head. ‘No, I won’t fall for your manipulations.’
‘Can’t make you believe what you don’t want to, but I can make you feel like you’re going insane. 499 bottles of beer on the wall!’
‘Just stop. I already feel insane.’
We stop walking, and I nearly run into Bullock’s back. I peer around his body to see that there are two men standing guard at an old, rusted, chain-link fence. Pistols rest in holsters hanging off their s
ides.
“Derren?” asks the older man on the right. His hand hovers over his gun, while he watches the rest of us.
“Hey, Parrish.”
He takes a step closer; I can make out his face now. His eye narrow, and wrinkles form in the corners. “I thought they kidnapped you? We all figured you had died by now. What are you doing here?”
“We escaped. We came here, because she has been brain washed and needs to see the Sea Witch in Chinatown to fix her. In order to do that undetected, we need to go through the tunnels, which means we need to pass through Paradise.
“We don’t allow outsiders into this area. You know that.”
“They can be trusted. All of them are members of Vox, and I have her tied up until we can get her back to normal. If you don’t believe me, go get my father. He can see their brands for himself.”
Parrish shakes his head and moves over to the fence. “No need for that. If you turn out to be lying or they are, we will kill you. Simple as that.” He opens the gate on the chain-link fence. “We’ll be watching. I advise you visit your father, before you pass through.
“Of course.” The assertiveness in his voice rings in my ears.
‘He has always been kind of an ass, but seeing him like this makes me think differently about him.’
Bullock pulls me along; the others follow behind. The dim light of oil lanterns fills the tunnel beyond, casting eerie shadows on the walls. One lantern for every three feet.
